See chapter 1 for Story notes. Thanks for the reviews! Please consider leaving feedback. It really helps and is much appreciated. Here is individual responses to reviews:
Harry2: Yep, trouble ahead! Glad you're enjoying it!
Ghostwriter: Yeah, having them identities known seems like a bad idea. Glad you're enjoying it!
MMPRFansince93: Glad you like all the action, because it continues! Yep, Blake better hurry! Glad you're enjoying it!
fallingstar22: Yep, Shane and Dustin got their prisms. More fights coming up! Glad you're enjoying!
Thunderstruck
Chapter 22: The Bounty, Pt 2
Leann Omino Watanabe arrived home at the old Thunder Academy. Cam was away in San Angeles and had told her of the dire situation that may befall them. She decided to visit her father in person to tell him of what had transpired. He would help her rally the thunder ninja students for the coming battle, she knew. But the shouting she heard from the Academy grounds startled her and she quickly hurried to see what was happening...
Several moments earlier...
Sensei Omino finished his rounds around the old grounds. Most students were now settled on the new campus and only auxiliary staff remained. He saw two of his loyal staff members trying to keep an approaching figure at bay. But the two ninjas were sent flying, as the man approached.
"These are sacred grounds! You dare to trespass?!" Omino called out.
"Now Sensei...I just came for a visit," the man, wearing a very expensive suit, claimed. Omino scrutinized the man carefully and his eyes suddenly widened in recognition.
"Logan..." he uttered the name.
"I no longer use that name. To the world, Logan Zimmer is dead. As you know though, I've done quite well for myself under my new alias," the man replied.
"Logan Zimmer is a murderer! Changing your name doesn't erase your deeds!" Omino spat.
"Logan Zimmer was killed in prison. I became Jared Zale that fateful night my death was staged. I spent years in obscurity, before climbing my way to the top from nothing. Meanwhile, you went on to become head Sensei, stole my son, and disgraced the Academy by joining with those wind heathens," Jared growled.
"You murdered your wife, a fellow ninja and believe me, your son was better off," Omino spat back.
"I've waited a very long time to pay you back for your part in all of that. But I guess it's true what they say. Revenge is a dish best served cold," he hissed, as his eyes went black. He conjured a mass of dark energy from his hands and fired it at the aging Sensei. Omino attempted to counter with crimson thunder. But the dark energy was too much and quickly overwhelmed him.
"NOOOOO!" Leann cried, as she ran to him, but he blasted her back and she collided with a wall, crumpling to the ground. The dark energy slammed into Omino, lifting him off the ground and throwing him about twenty feet away. He landed hard on his back and rolled several times. The black hole in his chest was telling and he struggled to breathe. Jared kicked him onto his back and knelt down.
"The crimson prism has already been found by my son. Tell me where the navy one is," Jared demanded.
"You'll never get it," Omino choked. Jared glared at him and kicked him viciously in the chest.
"See you in hell, old man," he spat, as he left. A few moments later, Leann groaned in pain and pulled herself off the ground. She saw her father's most trusted assistants gathered around his body.
"Father!" she cried, as she fell to her knees beside him. The two assistants were already shedding tears.
"Leann..." he choked.
"Shh...daddy, save your strength. We're going to get you help," she said.
"I'm afraid...it's too late," he rasped. Tears spilled down her cheeks, as she kissed his hand.
"Daddy...no...NO!" she sobbed, as he quietly slipped away. The two assistants, a man and a woman cradled the crying young woman between them.
"I know how much you are hurting, sweetheart, but Sensei Watanabe and your husband must know what has transpired here," the woman said softly. Leann looked up at her.
"Who was that man?" she demanded.
"A very dangerous former thunder ninja. Nearly twenty-five years ago, it was discovered that he was secretly practicing the dark arts. His own wife confronted him and he murdered her, while their small son was hidden in the closet. She herself was a thunder ninja and your father, the Bradley's, and several other senior ninja students subdued him before he could escape. They stripped him of his powers, though he seems to have regained those, and turned him over to the authorities for murder. Obviously, some of the details were omitted to the police, but he was tried and convicted," the man explained.
"His name at the time was Logan Zimmer, but five years after he went to prison, it appeared that he was killed in a prison riot. None of us had any idea that he had staged his death, obviously with outside help," the woman continued.
"What about the little boy? What happened to him after his mother died?" Leann asked. The two assistants exchanged a glance.
"What? What aren't you telling me?" she asked.
"The Bradley's adopted the little boy as their own," the woman replied. Leann's eyes widened.
"You mean..." she started to say. They nodded. She was stunned, but she pushed that aside for now. She had to get to San Angeles.
"This is insane," Blake complained, as he climbed the steep trail up the mountain. He looked ahead. He didn't have much further to go, but the air was getting much thinner and harder to breathe. As if he needed more problems, he felt a raindrop on his head. The persistent gloomy clouds that seemed omnipresent around the mountain suddenly opened up and poured rain down on him. Lightning crackled wildly around the top in the near distance.
"This is your fault, Hunter," he grumbled.
"I'm not sure how yet, bro, but I know this is your fault," he grumbled, as he continued on, soaked to the bone.
Tori's sword strikes met their mark, sparks ensuing from the bounty hunter's chest. The blue wind ranger charged, but Heliya recovered quickly and blocked Tori's blade with her own.
"You're out of your league, little girl," she hissed, as she slashed her violently across the chest, before tossing her away. But Hunter was ready with an attack, as he summoned his powers and raised his thunder staff to the sky.
"Thunder Staff...full power!" he called, as he launched the attack. Heliya was surprised by the strength of the attack and howled in pain, as she was electrocuted and fell to the ground in a smoking heap. She looked up and glared at the crimson ranger with her unnerving, transparent eyes, as she slowly got to her feet.
"You're going to pay for that," she growled, as she fired her blaster at him.
"Thunder shield!" he called, as he blocked her blasts and charged her. She smirked and her tentacles twitched, before launching at him and wrapped around his waist.
"Hunter!" Tori cried, as she watched the bounty hunter hurl him into a tree. She charged, but her other tentacle smacked Tori away and she went rolling to the ground.
"I'll deal with you soon enough, girl. First I'm going to kill your lover," she hissed, as she stalked toward Hunter, who was trying to painfully pick himself up off the ground after a hard impact with a tree. He didn't see her tentacle until it was too late and it wrapped around his neck. He used his hands to try and pry it off, as she lifted him into the air. His visor opened so he could try to get air.
"Humans...so fragile. Even the rangers. You love water so much, judging by your taste in females. It's only poetic that it be the means of your demise," she hissed, as she flung him over the cliff and into the valley below where the raging river awaited.
"NOOOO!" Tori screamed, as she started after him.
"Not so fast, mermaid," she taunted, as she grabbed the blue ranger's arm. But Tori deployed a ninja tactic, leaving Heliya holding nothing but her ranger suit, while the real blue ranger dove over the cliff toward the river. Heliya glared at her descending form, but then smirked.
"Well played, ninja," she said, as she took her grappling cable out and started repelling down into the steep, lush canyon.
"Let the hunt begin," she said.
Once the other rangers pushed Lothor's forces back, they regrouped at the Hartford mansion, where Shane and Dustin gathered around the computer with Cam.
"Anything?" Shane asked impatiently.
"There's a lot of interference in that canyon, not to mention a weak signal," Cam replied in frustration.
"We need to go look for them, especially since that bounty hunter went after them," Dustin said.
"If they're still alive," Andrew said gravely. Shane and Dustin glared at him.
"I'm sorry, but that was at least a fifty foot drop. It's possible they didn't survive," he responded.
"No, they were morphed and Tori's one hell of a swimmer. She'll find Hunter and I'm sure they're just hiding to recover, before they take on a rematch with that orange skinned freak," Shane stated firmly.
"The power will protect them. We must have faith in both Hunter and Tori. Lothor is already amassing his forces in Blue Bay Harbor. He will attempt to open the gates of Gehenna tomorrow at dusk when Mars eclipses the moon," Kanoi stated, as they saw a redheaded woman arrive, being led in by Spencer. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying.
"Leann?!" Cam exclaimed, as he flew out of his chair.
"Oh Cam..." she cried, as she collapsed in her husband's arms.
"What happened?" he asked, as he cradled her crying form.
"It's Daddy...he was killed..." she sobbed. Shock washed over the other ninja's and Kanoi placed a hand on his chest, feeling a great loss of his good friend.
"How?" Cam asked.
"There was a man...I don't know who he was. But Daddy knew him and his assistants said he was once a thunder ninja. His name was Logan Zimmer and years ago he was caught practicing the dark arts by his own wife, who was also a thunder ninja," Leann sobbed.
"Dad...do you know anything about this?" Cam asked. Kanoi nodded gravely.
"Yes Cameron, I know the story. Omino has told me just as I told him of Kiya's betrayal. Logan murdered his own wife that very evening while their young son was hidden by his mother in the closet," Kanoi stated.
"I'm pulling everything on him now," Billy said, as his hands flew over the keyboard.
"He was subdued by Omino, the Bradley's and several other senior students that night. They turned him over to the police for her murder. They had to lie about there being no crime scene, but there was no way they could jeopardize the secrecy of the Academy. Surprisingly, Logan confessed and cut a deal to serve twenty years," Kanoi stated.
"Seems like a light sentence for murder," Jason said.
"We agree and his confession at the time baffled Omino and the others," Kanoi said.
"I've found him, but Logan Zimmer has been dead for twenty years. According to official records, he was killed in prison five years after his sentencing," Billy said.
"That makes no sense," Rocky said.
"Actually, I think it makes more sense than we know," Billy replied, as they gestured to the screen. Jason scrutinized the picture of Logan Zimmer and his eyes widened in
recognition.
"No way..." he uttered.
"That's Jared Zale," Tommy said. Billy nodded.
"I don't understand...how is that possible?" Kim asked.
"I'm not sure yet. I'll have to do some digging, but I would say that he had help from the outside and his death was purposely staged. This might be our missing link," Billy replied.
"Missing link?" Rocky asked.
"Remember when we thought Goldar might have had human help? Or that there was more to that drug operation than just Palo Vasquez?" Billy asked.
"You think this guy is connected?" Jason asked.
"There's no way to be sure yet...but a lot of things would make more sense if he was," Billy said, as he went to work. He suddenly stopped and looked at Kanoi.
"The woman he murdered, his wife, was named Sarah Bradley-Zimmer?" Billy asked in disbelief. All attention turned to Kanoi.
"Yes...she was James Bradley's twin sister," Kanoi stated.
"James Bradley...as in Hunter and Blake's adoptive father?" Shane asked. Leann nodded.
"It's true...my father's assistants told me so," Leann replied.
"Then the little boy in the closet that night..." Adam uttered. Kanoi nodded.
"Yes...the little boy in the closet that night was Hunter. After his sister's murder, James and his wife Elizabeth took custody of their nephew and adopted him as their own," Kanoi revealed.
"Whoa...heavy stuff dude," Dustin stated.
"And Hunter knows none of this?" Trini asked. Kanoi shook his head.
"Hunter does not remember that terrible night. He was barely two and his adoptive parents thought it was best that he did not know," Kanoi stated.
"Well, he'll have to know now. He won't take his Sensei's death lightly and he'll want to go after the man that did it...we all do," Cam said, as he held his wife tightly.
"In the meantime, we need some kind of game plan," Trini said.
"She's right. In less than twenty-four hours, Lothor is going to open the gates of Gehenna and unleash an army of evil on the Earth," Adam said.
"And we're missing the two people that can seal up the gate if he does," Kira mentioned.
"We have to hope they're okay and that they'll find a way to get to Blue Bay Harbor," Conner said. Jason nodded.
"He's right. We can't spare any rangers to go look for them if he does open those gates," Jason said, as Shane and Dustin looked appalled.
"Sorry guys, but you know he's right," Tommy said. They nodded reluctantly. If Hunter and Tori could, they would join them in the battle as soon as they could.
"For now, we need to try and come up with some sort of strategy," Jason said, as they began discussing the upcoming battle.
Tori surfaced after a third dive, pulling Hunter to the surface. His morph had taken the brunt of the impact, before dissolving when he fell unconscious and he had a nasty gash on his forehead where it looked like a rock had scraped him. Her visor opened and she sucked fresh air into her lungs, before slowly fighting the current toward the river bank.
"Ugh...you're heavy, thunder boy," she grumbled, as she splashed him in the face with water. He groaned.
"Babe...wake up..." she pleaded.
"This looks bad..." he groaned, as he started kicking his legs to help. A few miles later down the river, they finally were able to reach the bank. Tori canceled her morph, as they collapsed to the ground, dripping wet and panting.
"That cut looks bad," Tori mentioned, as she looked at it.
"It's worse than it looks, I'm sure. I'm not dizzy or anything so I don't think I have a concussion," he replied. She looked unconvinced.
"I'm fine Tor...thanks to you," he reminded her. She smiled.
"I'm sure she's coming after us though. We need to find somewhere safe to regroup before we take her on again," she replied. He nodded.
"Well, this is a valley inside a canyon, so I'm sure there has to be some caves around here, probably on the outskirts," he suggested. She nodded in agreement, as
they started off, hand in hand, using their ninja stealth to conceal their path.
Blake ducked a lightning bolt and dived behind a rock. He was finally at the top and the lightning was going wild as a result of his proximity.
"This is bat shit crazy," Blake cursed, but he knew what he needed to do. His hand sparked with navy thunder energy and he drew the energy around the prism to his hand. The prism glowed and reacted, before flying into the navy ranger's hand. The volatile lightning subsided and the clouds started rolling away.
"Well, now I just need to get home in record time," Blake said, as he touched the prism to his old morpher. It glowed with new light.
"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!" he called, as his armor molded around his body and he disappeared in a navy streak.
By the time they reached the outskirts, it had already been dark for hours. The temperature had also dropped significantly, but they finally found a suitable cave to camp in for the night. Tori shivered, as they finally found a suitable cave.
"It's so cold..." she chattered.
"That's the desert at night for you," he said, as they huddled together. Fortunately, their clothes were mostly dry by now so they wouldn't freeze.
"We need to make a fire," he said. Gathering the wood was the hardest part, but once they had a pile, they sat on the cave floor side by side.
"Ready?" he asked. She nodded. Crimson thunder sizzled in his hand and an orb of water formed in hers. They slowly fused their power and an amethyst glow filled the cave. The violet hued fire burned brightly between them and they lit the wood on fire. They shared a smile.
"It's getting easier," she mentioned. He smiled.
"I suppose that's good, because we have to use this very fire to keep the gates of some monstrous, demonic hell sealed in less than twenty-four hours," he replied. She squeezed his hand.
"Don't tell me you're getting worried, thunder boy," she said. He responded by kissing her passionately.
"Not a chance. The fact that more and more people are trying to keep us apart and destroy us just makes me more determined that our love is meant to be. No bounty hunter, I don't care how good she is supposed to be, is going to kill us," he replied, as he kissed her again.
"I'll take the first watch," he said.
"Are you sure?" she asked. He nodded.
"I'll wake you in a few hours," he replied, as she laid down with her head in his lap. She was asleep within minutes, while he remained acutely aware of their surroundings.
The next morning...
Cam coughed and shook his head as another blanket of rocky dust smacked him in the face. After days of searching, the computer had finally picked up an energy signature similar to his Samurai amulet popped up inside an ancient Mayan Temple in Mexico. Sneaking past security at the Pyramid grounds at the archeological wonder that was the ancient city of Chicen Itza had been fairly easy with his ninja streak. But he was confused once he got inside. Surely something like what he was looking for would have been discovered in an archeological hot spot like this. But his scanner was reading the energy as strongly as ever. And if it were to be accurate, he was supposedly standing directly on it. But all he saw in front of him was a wall with ancient Mayan hieroglyphs.
"Great...now what?" Cam wondered. But he stopped when he took another glance at the wall. The symbols caught his attention. He stepped closer and touched the square in the upper right corner. It was Shane's symbol of air...only upside down.
"Surely...it's not that simple..." Cam wondered, as he pressed on the stone. It pushed in and he turned it right side up. Still nothing happened.
"Okay...that's air and there's earth," he said, as he pressed on the earth symbol, turning it right side up as well. In the two parallel corners, he saw the upside down symbols representing crimson and navy thunder. He pressed on each, turning them right side up. Finally, in the center between the thunder symbols was the water symbol. Taking a deep breath, he turned the final symbol on its head, causing the wall to immediately glow with the respective colors. He stood back and watched in complete awe, as a greenish/white star appeared in the center of it all. A beam of light shot out passed Cam and to what looked like was once used as a sacrificial altar. The altar slid aside and once the blinding light subsided, it revealed a secret set of stairs descending into the underground. Cam's eyes were wide with wonder, as he traipsed down the steps.
"Man...Hartford would be having a fit right now if he saw this," Cam commented, as he thought of the explorer. Cam came to the bottom of the stairs and into a room where
his symbol was emblazoned on one wall with an ornate chest on the floor. It was pure gold and encrusted with precious emeralds and jade stones. His amulet glowed brightly the closer he got to it. He opened it and inside lay the green star prism. He picked it up, mesmerized by its brilliance.
"Well...thank you for finding my prism, nephew..." Lothor hissed, as he suddenly appeared.
"It's not yours and I'm not your nephew," Cam retorted. Lothor blasted him with dark energy and the prism flew out of his hand, rolling toward Lothor. But Cam leapt into the air and kicked him away from it, before diving for the trinket. Lothor tackled him to the ground and tried to pry Cam's hand open. But the prism, in its rightful hands, helped him and green energy blew Lothor back. His amulet absorbed the prism and enlarged into his morpher.
"Samurai Storm...Ranger Form, ha!" Cam called, as his ranger armor molded around his body once again. Lothor growled angrily.
"You may have the prism, but it won't matter at dusk!" Lothor threatened, as he disappeared.
"Cam...do you read?" Billy called through his communicator.
"Yeah, I got the prism. What's going on?" he asked.
"Blue Bay Harbor is under attack. I think Lothor is trying to wear us down before he opens the gates," Billy replied.
"I'm teleporting out now," Cam replied. He wanted more time to explore this Temple, but it would have to wait until some other time. He disappeared in a streak of green teleportation.
"Are you sure this is the spot?" Taylor asked impatiently, as she got out of the black Suburban. Wes, Eric, and Jen got out too and the Wild Force rangers got out of the Jeep next to them.
"These are the coordinates we got from Billy," Eric replied.
"Maybe he was wrong. There's nothing here," she complained. Eric rolled his eyes.
"Do you ever open your mouth without complaints coming out?" he asked. Jen and Wes rolled their eyes.
"Here we go," Jen mumbled.
"Me? You're always bitching about something too," Taylor retorted.
"I do not bitch," Eric refuted. Wes stepped in before they could turn this into an all out war.
"Billy is rarely wrong, so I'm sure this is it. I swear, you two are so annoying. You're either fighting or fu..." But Jen cut him off by smacking his arm. Cole chuckled, as he got where Wes was going.
"Wes," she scolded.
"It's true," Wes said, earning glares from the tumultuous pair.
"Besides, I think this is the place," Alyssa intervened, as she pointed to the approaching Hummer.
Carter and the rest of Lightspeed had also arrived, with Angela Fairweather-Rawlins and Captain Mitchell in tow.
"Place looks pretty deserted," Joel mentioned, as he hopped out and opened the door for his wife and they looked around at the seemingly normal grassy knoll. Angela took out a device and started gathering readings from their surroundings.
"What can you tell?" Joel asked her. She looked up at him and then the rest of them with a grave expression.
"These readings are off the charts," she uttered.
"Off what chart?" Max asked.
"Off the evil energy chart...it's over three times as high as it was the day Queen Bansheera opened the Underworld," she informed them. They were all silent.
"But...nothing has even happened yet," Wes said.
"Exactly. The others better get here soon, especially the two you said can keep this thing closed," Angela replied. They all shared a meaningful look until they were suddenly pelted by laser blasts. They managed to pick themselves up and came face to face with several monsters.
"Greetings rangers, I am Thrax. If you think you're going to stop us from opening the gates, then you're sadly mistaken," Thrax hissed. Flurious summoned the Chillers and Thrax called forth the Tengus.
"Let's ranger up," Wes suggested.
"Ready!" Carter called.
"Lightspeed Rescue!"
"Titanium Power!"
"Time for Time Force!"
"Quantum Power!"
"Wild Access!"
The rangers charged the minions with full force. It had begun…